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"Tumbalalaika" (Yiddish: טום־באַלאַלײַקע) is a Russian Jewish folk and love song in the Yiddish language. Tum (טום) is the Yiddish word for 'noise' and a balalaika is a stringed musical instrument of Russian origin.
| Yiddish | Transliteration | Translation[1] |
|---|---|---|
שטײט אַ בחור און ער טראַכט, (או: שטײט אַ בחור, שטײט און טראַכט) |
Shteyt a bokher, un er trakht (also shteyt un trakht) |
A young lad stands, and he thinks |
Meaning
While most versions use a shteyn ('a stone') as the answer to "what can grow without rain", some versions use farshteyn ('understanding').[2]
- The song Over and Over by Nana Mouskouri uses this melody.[3] It followed the singer's french version "Roule s'enroule" (lyrics by Michel Jourdan).
- The song, "Tumbalalaika (The Riddle)" by Natalia Zukerman[4] is a poetic adaptation of this to English, with the chorus remaining in Yiddish.
- The Barry Sisters version of the song appears in episode 5, season 2 (“Midnight At The Concord”) of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
- Benny Hill adapted the melody for one of his own compositions, Anna Marie, which he performed on his first special for Thames Television on November 19, 1969.[citation needed]
- The film Khrustalyov, My Car! shows a young Jewish boy singing the song in Russian.
- The song is used in the film Swing by Tony Gatlif.
- The song is used in the play Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes by Tony Kushner and the film based on this play. It is sung by the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg to Roy Cohn, dying of AIDS.[5]
- The song is used in the film Prendimi l'anima/The Soul Keeper (2002) by Roberto Faenza.[6]
- The metal version of the song[7] is included in the first Metal Yiddish album AlefBase by Gevolt, released in March 2011
- A pastiche of the song is used in the play The Hamlet of Stepney Green: A Sad Comedy with Some Songs by Bernard Kops.
- The song is included in the album Homenatge a Xesco Boix, a tribute to Xesco Boix. The latter used to play in his concerts for children. Also included in Cançons catalanes de Folk in 1976 (Terra Nostra).
- The song appears in the novel The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros.[8]
- A vietnamese version "Tình Nồng Cháy" (Passioned love) with lyrics by Anh Bằng, based on the english lyrics of "Over and Over" uses this melody. [9] [10]
- The Berlin-based electro swing duo, Masha Ray, covered the song in 2023.[11]
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